How about some ambush marketing !!

While Ambush Marketing in cricket has largely been reserved for the World cups,  the BCCI with its unflinching appetite for money ; apologies Massive Money, may just have stirred up a hornet's nest.

It's no secret that the Indian Premier League has consistently had various national and international brands as its official partners for various seasons, the 2013 edition offers something that is sure to stump the official broadcaster of IPL - Multi Screen Media (which owns the Sony Entertainment Network).

Star India has come on board, signing a deal worth  INR 60 crore, as the ‘On-ground Associate Sponsor’. Through this mode of sponsorship, Star India plans to promote its flagship channel Star Plus extensively via a post event award ceremony called as ‘Nayi Soch Awards’. With prizes on offer for every special achievement by a player on the field being awarded by leading characters of famous shows on Star Plus, this marketing tactic is sure to ruffle up the feathers of Sony.

Multi Screen Media (MSM) holds the Indian Premier League broadcast rights for ten years, which it bought for around INR 6,000 crore. With 9 teams playing a total of 75 matches in the current edition, it appears to be a smart and calculated move which may just end up giving rich dividends to the Star Group.

For the record, there is a certain rivalry attached to the biggest television networks in India. Last year, Sony and Star TV were amongst the bidders vying for the broadcast, internet and mobile rights for cricket in India. But, it was Star TV which bagged a six-year deal worth INR 3,850 crore, with the BCCI, narrowly pipping Sony, allowing it to telecast 96 international matches to be played in India till March 2018.

Anyhow, since all of this appears well within the guidelines put forth by the BCCI, it will be interesting to see the reaction and approach of MSM on this whole issue.

Mickey & Pup - A combination destined to fail !!

So, the test series has finally come to a humiliating yet expected end for the once-upon-a-time invincible Aussies. Many experts claim that with the unofficial revenge series now in the bag (and how), India is on the right track to reclaim its number one Test Ranking. While this is highly debatable, the picture will become more clearer once India tours South Africa , New Zealand and England between 2013-2014.

While it's obvious that a 4-0 margin has clearly exposed the inadequacies the Australian team faces on several fronts, it also gives a subtle reflection of what the current team lacks in abundance vis-a-vis the past dominating Aussie teams - and here we are not talking about the talent or experience or key personnel, we are talking about 'INTIMIDATION' and 'AGGRESION'. Past Australian teams have always been associated with these two key aspects-facets that have come to be known as a part of the Aussie culture. It had played a crucial role in their era of dominance, but unfortunately these are glaringly missing from the current lot. And no marks for guessing, who are responsible for this, of course the captain and the coach.

Talking about Michael Clarke aka pup, while he has had the best twelve months with the willow in hand, his leadership qualities especially on the field have often been much revered. Coach Mickey Arthur himself has been a highly successful South African coach having orchestrated the rise of the team to number one in one day international rankings. While the credentials of the two look most impressive and seem a match made in heaven, apparently their combination is proving to be otherwise. Their insistence on having a very specific team culture, coupled with dire consequences for those not adhering to their diktats has made the team not only more disjointed but also robbed the essential qualities of a typical Aussie player.

A perfect example could be seen in the recent test match played in Delhi, where Shane Watson was captaining the side in place of Clarke. Day two of the match saw some high voltage action, with the Aussies finally displaying raw emotions while being on the field. Australia managed to get under the Indian skins after Warner had a heated verbal altercation with Jadeja, igniting tensions in the final session of the game, after which Jadeja approached the umpires who then summoned Watson to pacify the feisty opener.

During the post match conference, Nathan Lyon dropped a hint of what he felt was sorely missing in the side and stated that the brief moment of tension may have built pressure on Dhoni and could have been one of the factors that led to the dismissal of the Indian captain. In stating so, he also added that they should have tried to unsettle the home side well before they crashed to a 3-0 deficit.

Aggression is one of the ways by which this team plays its best cricket as they put the contest to the opposition and history has shown that no matter whoever the opposing team is, this method has always worked well for Australia. And this is primarily the reason why, day two of the test match belonged to them. While it's obvious that Watson and Arthur don't share the kind of relation, Clarke and Arthur share, what was stand out was the marked difference in the approach undertaken by the team when it had a change in personnel at the top. While Watson is more free spirited and more of a person who hates to be governed by rules, Clarke is in fact the exact opposite.

As a cricket aficionado, I strongly feel that until and unless the famed Aussie culture of yesteryears is not brought back immediately into the fold, this Australian team will keep scaling down one summit after the other (especially with the forthcoming back-to-back Ashes looming large ). That is why it is important for the betterment of the team and cricket in general that the team management allows the players to freely express themselves on the field rather than making them puppets at the hands of those in power.

Nothing Unusual About It !!! - First day of Mohali Test

Sacking or no sacking, it turned out to be a typical first day for the Aussies (never mind the washed out first day). Much was expected from the 'Men Down Under' after the recent episode especially  when Mickey Arthur's 'Line in the sand' phrase had been googled an unprecedented number of times.

So, the toss was won by Michael Clarke for a third straight time and he had no hesitation in batting first. A rousing start from the openers - a 139 run stand had in fact started to make me feel that a certain Mr. Mickey Arthur was the next biggest Management Guru to have been unearthed from the Indian shores after the self proclaimed and immensely popular (well! I have no reasons to believe otherwise) Mr. Arindam Chaudhuri.

But alas that was not to be. A good start was frittered away and how. 273 for 7 may not look that bad at the end of the day but when one takes into account the docile pitch (surprising for a Mohali wicket) coupled with an excellent start that was provided, it well gives an uncanny resemblance to everything that has seen been seen on this tour - on the field that is !!

Clarke had declared before the start of this test match that he'd had enough and would bat at one drop to lend more solidity to the team. And so he did, but stepping out first ball especially  to a bowler who had castled him twice in the previous test, didn't  prove a very smart move for the skipper. A golden first ball duck and suddenly the writing was on the wall for the visitors.

Ravindra Jadeja - the favourite whipping boy of Indian Cricket for reasons unknown has suddenly found a very distinguished bunny for himself in Michael Clarke. Another torturous period awaited Phillip Hughes and he gladly obliged. For someone who seemed the only benefactor in the shocking events gone by, it was sad to see the young batsman play. 2 runs in 31 balls is just not what is expected from a front line Aussie batsman. Anyhow Steven Smith, another bits and pieces player was positive right from the word go. Display of nerves even if they were present were nowhere to be seen. Having the same batting coach as Michael Clarke, Smith made excellent use of the depth of the crease and looked every bit assured against the spinners. In the team primarily for his batting skills, he impressed with his stroke play and range of shots.

Brad Haddin in place of Matthew Wade, was his customary aggressive self right from the start and provided an entertaining  46 run stand for the fifth wicket. The star of the first test Moises Henriques went for a first ball duck to a peach of a delivery from Ishant Sharma. Peter Siddle was quickly wrapped up by Jadeja and it again seemed a situation where Clarke might just think of declaring the innings  today itself. But, Mitchell Starc in company with the promising Smith stitched together an unbroken partnership of 22 runs for the 8th wicket to finish the day at 273 for 7.

For the Indian bowlers, it was a mixed day. After looking clueless during the initial phase of the game, the bowlers came back strongly to finish the day on a convincing note. Barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was guilty of leaking runs, all others looked the part with Jadeja again upstaging the other specialist spinners.

All in all, it was a good game of cricket. The Indians will look to wrap up the Aussie innings for less than 300, until we are made to witness a Smith special. Shikhar Dhawan is making his debut in this test match. It would be exciting to watch him open the batting and face the red cherry along with Vijay, sometime tomorrow.